MANILA, Philippines - Eight women died in a five-hour fire that engulfed a two-story building where they were padlocked inside a room by their employer in Pasay City before dawn yesterday.
Their remains were found embracing one another inside the room padlocked from the outside. They appeared to have died from suffocation.
They were identified as Heiderliza Ib-Ib, 24, and her sister Lorena, 21; Angeline Quillano, 21;Shelalyn Habagat, 19; Jelsa Saburiga, 19; Renalyn de Baguio, 21; Maricris Palmesa Calumba, 21; and Floraly Balucos, 20. They were all from Negros Oriental.
Chairman Lucilla Grace Corpuz of Barangay 47 told The STAR the victims were recruited as minors from Negros Oriental several years ago to work in the electronics shop housed in the building.
“The workers were kept like prisoners and they were not allowed to get out after working,†she said.
“They were made to work 12 hours a day without day-off and with salary of P2,000 to P3,000 monthly.
“They test and assemble laptops, cell phones, DVD players and other electronic devices.â€
Corpuz said Juanito Go, the building’s owner, has been the subject of complaints from the workers for nonpayment of salaries and for preventing them from going home to their provinces.
Some of the workers have been in the shop for the last five years, she added. Corpuz said the electronics shop has no permit to operate in a residential area. It had converted the building into a warehouse and assembly shop for electronic gadgets, she added.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said the fire started on the ground floor where electronic devices – cell phones, DVD players, laptops – were stored.
Nine other workers were able to escape after destroying the iron grills and air-conditioning vent on the second floor.
Some were able to climb to the building’s rooftop, where firemen rescued them. They suffered minor injuries.
They were identified as Irene Acua, 22; Janice Bajo, 20; Cherrlyn Calum, 22; Michelle Callano, 22; Jessa Mae Callao, 22; Dally delos Nios, 18; Almera Zuñiga, 22; Jessa Maria Callao, 17, and Nikki Torres, 22.
The fire started at about 1 a.m. and was placed under control past 5 a.m.
Pasay City police have taken into custody Go, who is also president of Asia Metro Tech Inc., the clandestine electronics shop.
Senior Superintendent Florencio Ortilla, Pasay City police chief, said they are now coordinating with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for assistance to the survivors.